HDFC hikes home loan interest rates by up to 0.20 percentage points

Housing Development and Finance Corp. Ltd (HDFC) has raised its lending rates by up to 0.20 percentage points, in line with similar moves by commercial banks. The increase in the retail prime lending rate (RPLR), on which it benchmarks the adjustable rate home loans (ARHL), is effective from 1 April, an official statement said. A company spokesperson said the rate hike is progressive, between 0.05 percentage points to 0.20 percentage points, with the lowest hike applicable to the low-ticket size loan. A loan for under Rs30 lakh by a female borrower, which is the lowest rate offered by the lender, will now be available at 8.40%, the spokesperson said, adding for others it will be 8.45%. Home loans between Rs30 lakh and Rs75 lakh will be available at 8.55% for women borrowers and 8.60% for others, while those above Rs75 lakh will be for 8.65% for women and 8.70% for others. Despite no rate hikes by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the liquidity squeeze has resulted in several banks hiking interest rate offerings since late 2017. It started with the private sector lenders like Axis Bank, Yes Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank hiking their marginal cost of funding-based lending rates (MCLR), and gradually percolated down to all the banks in the system including the largest lender State Bank of India.